Homemade Dry Rub Recipe

Made with simple ingredients this homemade dry rub is sweet, savory, and spicy and perfect for flavoring meat or vegetables.

Use this dry rub recipe to add an irresistible flavor to dishes such as Instant Pot Ribs, Air Fryer Chicken Wings, or Slow Cooker Pulled Pork.  

What is a Dry Rub?

A dry rub is a mixture of salt, dried spices, and sometimes sugar that is used to add flavor to chicken, beef, pork, fish, tofu, and/or vegetables prior to cooking. 

It is called dry because it is made with dry ingredients, as opposed to a wet marinade which is made with wet and dry ingredients. Creative, huh?! 

Homemade Dry Rub Ingredients

• Brown Sugar: Use light or dark brown sugar. The brown sugar will give a rich, sweet flavor to the rub and will help your meat (or vegetables) to caramelize when cooked.  
• Paprika: I highly recommend using smoked paprika, which will give this dry rub a slightly smokey, nuanced flavor. However, regular ground paprika will work as well. 
• Garlic & Onion Powder: These both work to add a savory element to the rub and pack in a ton of flavor overall. 
• Kosher Salt: I recommend using kosher salt, not iodized or table salt. Kosher salt has a coarse texture which allows it to adhere to meats and other surfaces more easily and flavors the dry rub better as it has no additives or iodine added that can slightly impact the overall taste. 
• Cayenne Pepper: The cayenne will add spice without overwhelming the dry rub. Feel free to increase or decrease the amount added to control the spice level of your rub. 
• Black Pepper: Freshly ground black pepper rounds out the rub. 

Preparing & Storing Homemade Dry Rub

I recommend preparing this dry rub immediately prior to using, rather than preparing it in bulk and storing it in the pantry for an extended period, as I recommend when preparing other spice blends, such as Taco Seasoning and Chili Seasoning. Because brown sugar is added to this spice rub, it can begin to clump up and cake together if stored for an extended period of time. 

Thankfully, this spice blend takes only a minute or two to combine, so you can prep it quickly whenever needed!

Suggested Uses 

The options for this all-purpose dry rub are endless. Let your taste buds and imagination guide you in the various ways you use this homemade blend, but below are a few of my personal favorite recipes that use this homemade dry rub. 

• Chicken: I love using this dry rub for seasoning Air Fryer Chicken Breast, Air Fryer Chicken Wings, Instant Pot BBQ Chicken, and Grilled BBQ Chicken. It also is a great substitute for seasoned salt in recipes like Instant Pot Whole Chicken, Instant Pot Wings, or Homemade Rotisserie Chicken.
• Pork: This sweet and savory dry rub creates the best flavoring for recipes like Air Fryer Pork Chops, Instant Pot Pulled Pork, Instant Pot Ribs, and Slow Cooker Pulled Pork.
• Beef: Add a unique flavor to Pan-Seared Steak, Homemade Burgers, or use it to flavor London Broil in place of the wet marinade. 
• Seafood: Use in place of cajun seasoning for Mahi Mahi or to season Pan-Seared Tilapia. It is also delicious when used as a dry rub for grilled shrimp. 
• Vegetables: This sweet, savory, and slightly spicy dry rub is fabulous when used to season Air Fryer Potatoes or Baked Sweet Potato Fries. It gives the potatoes a nice sweet and smokey flavor. You can also use it to season grilled corn on the cob before grilling or vegetable kabobs. 

More Homemade Spice Blends

• Homemade Fajita Seasoning
• Adobo Seasoning
• Homemade Cajun Seasoning
• Chili Seasoning Recipe
• Homemade Seasoned Salt
• Dried Onion Soup Mix
• Homemade Dill Seasoning

If you tried this easy recipe for Homemade Dry Rub, I would love for you to leave a review and comment below.